In the ongoing drama surrounding Georgia's election interference case against former President Donald Trump, a new controversy has erupted involving the case's co-defendant, Harrison Floyd, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. As FOX5 Atlanta reports, Floyd is threatening to take legal action against Willis over what he alleges to be an illegal phone recording.
Floyd claims Willis' office illegally recorded a call with his attorney in a separate Maryland case—a situation that he argues may have broken the Maryland Wiretapping Act. In a video, Floyd also accused Willis of advancing a "racist agenda" through her actions, a claim that comes amid previous criticism Willis has faced. Floyd contended that the case against him has been made "about race" and said, "Deep down she wants to make me pay for what she feels is a betrayal to Black culture," according to FOX5 Atlanta.
Concurrently, Willis is pushing back against efforts from Trump and his co-defendants to have her disqualified from prosecuting the election subversion case. In response to a new court filing on Monday, Willis asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to uphold the initial ruling allowing her to remain on the case, provided her top prosecutor Nathan Wade resigns—which he did. She argued that "There being no error by the trial court, the present application merely reflects the applicants’ dissatisfaction with the trial court’s proper application of well-established law to the facts," as cited in a filing detailed by CNN.
Willis and her office are also contending with allegations that her romantic relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest, further fueling the demands by co-defendants for her disqualification. Trump's lead Georgia-based attorney Steve Sadow wrote, "At a minimum, DA Willis and her office should have been disqualified from prosecuting the case." It is now up to the Georgia Court of Appeals to decide whether to review this issue, which does not halt the continued preparation for a trial that Willis hopes will occur before the November presidential election, as further explained by CNN. Meanwhile, Trump and his co-defendants remain firm in their position, insisting that their First Amendment rights protect any efforts made to challenge the 2020 election results.
The story continues to develop as Willis stays the course with the prosecution, balancing the complexities of this high-profile case with the criticisms levied against her office. A pending decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals and preparations for a potential pre-election trial keep both Willis and her adversaries in a state of strategic anticipation.
